Yet Lassila, who had squeezed in the birth of a son since the last Olympics, still walked away with glory nonetheless.

"Sorry ... I really went for it guys," she said, trying to control her emotions. "I'm really happy. I'm sorry I'm crying, but it's joy. It's happiness. It was my maximum effort.

"To be able to do that trick in the super final was something. I've left my mark forever, and made history with that trick. It would've been great to land it, but I was stretching for my life. It's been an amazing journey until now."

Belarus veteran Alla Tsuper was the surprise winner, having been the only one of the last four to land perfectly.

China's world champion Xu Mengtao took silver on the last jump of the night, while the favourite, Nina La also of China, crashed spectacularly to miss out on a medal.

Under the new sudden-death format for these games, with three stages of finals held, merely landing almost means more than the trickery in the air.

As far as Lassila was concerned, though, the colour of the medal didn't matter.

She had made it clear late last year that landing the quad-twisting triple would mean more.

When she landed the trick in training on Tuesday, she created history because no female competitor had done it before.

She knew then that she would have it in her back pocket for the final jump of the night, should she make the final.

"That was the plan," she said. "It was really an all-or-nothing approach. I had nothing to lose. It was just an amazing opportunity for me to do that.

"These Olympics were more about me reaching my potential as an aerial skier. I've wanted to do that trick for 15 years. I saw the guys at Mount Buller doing it at a World Cup in 1999, and I was just mesmerised. I couldn't ski yet, but I thought, 'I want to jump like a guy. I want to do that trick'. It's been a long journey ever since. I've been trying my whole career to do that. It was really important for me to realise that."

The question now is whether Lassila will stay on for a record fifth Olympics, something former leading aerial freestyle skier Jacqui Cooper had done, although she never won a medal in the most brutal of winter sports.

Lassila said she didn't know, although there were indications behind the scenes that she would stay around until she landed her groundbreaking trick in some form of competition.

"My calendar stopped at the 14th of February," Lassila said. "We need to get through this. I'll calm down and talk to my husband and we'll make that decision together."

Earlier, Lassila had crashed on her first jump of the day but recovered to reach the final 12 alongside teammates Laura Peel and Danielle Scott.

She then hurt her knee in training before the super final.

"With these super finals, it's a hard day, it's a tough format," she said. "We're all exhausted in the end. You see three out of four people crashing, it doesn't look great."

12 comments so far

What a terrific "gutsy" effort. What we see these athletes do in competition is just the culmination of YEARS of commitment, sacrifice and pain from them and their loved ones.What these guys and girls do is simply stunning and everyone of them is a champ, doing their best qualifies them for that.

Commenter

Neil (not on radio) Mitchell

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 6:14AM

Job well done congratulations.

Commenter

andi

Location

Grafton

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 7:56AM

Would have left a better "mark" if she done a face plant.

Commenter

Ski Jumper

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 8:59AM

How good was that jump!!! First woman ever! And Sooooo close to sticking it on the landing. Absolutely correct that Lydia would have won the gold, but to me she is a gold medallist for even attempting the quad-twisting triple!!! I just cannot get my head around how you even begin to attempt this sort of jump. Amazing, thrilling and incredible to watch. Well done Lydia, your a great athlete and a real Aussie champ

Commenter

robbo

Location

st kilda

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 9:22AM

I so want to cheer on Aussie athletes like I did when I was a kid. I can't seem to do it. Is it me or are most of them as cringe worthy as they seem? No grace. Not Lydia. So impressive on so many levels. Don't go just yet Lydia. If your body and your family can take it, hang around, carry the flag and set an example for the young ones moving through. Australian sport needs more like you. Congratulations on an amazing career.

Commenter

Des Tiolle

Location

Preston

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 9:28AM

Aussie Aussie Aussie - Bronze Bronze Bronze!

Commenter

The truth can be

Location

cold

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 9:29AM

Hero , absolutely, hero . I have been in the UK and the BBC coverage has been excellent. Sat down last night to watch the coverage and then after less than an hour of recorded highlights on cam two tired sad dirty old men that were possibly relevant a decade ago but suddenly when I want to watch Olympic competition I'm listening to these sad individuals talking about condom allocations in the village - Channel 10 you are a disgrace. Instead of focusing on Lydia and the live events you went for cheap jokes. Shameful

Commenter

Mitch

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 15, 2014, 10:05AM

Legend!!! It's not about gold, it's about trying your absolute best. She did that. Respect to her and all the other competitors.